


You Chose Your Path, Don't Shift The Blame

by EvilToTheCore13



Category: Original Work
Genre: Androids, Complicated Relationships, Cyborgs, Gen, Moral Ambiguity, Mutants, Nonbinary Character, Science Fiction, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25884427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilToTheCore13/pseuds/EvilToTheCore13
Summary: Adam is a superstrong, nigh-invulnerable android, trying his best to be a hero in a world that never sees him that way. His friend and teammate Zane, a cyborg created by illegal and dangerous experiments, has been captured by the same company that created them to be used as a test subject once more. Adam is determined to rescue Zane. But an unexpected encounter with his former friend Hunter, now a wanted criminal and mutant rebel leader, complicates the situation. All three characters have made their choices, but who has made the right ones is a much more difficult question.
Relationships: Original Male Character & Original Female Character & Original Non-Binary Character, Villain who has a mutual friend with the hero & hero & mutual friend who’s has been kidnapped
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5
Collections: Original Works Opportunity 2020





	You Chose Your Path, Don't Shift The Blame

**Author's Note:**

> The "villain" part is questionable but Hunter is still officially considered a villain in-universe.

Adam smashed through the door, setting off alarms all over the base. He ignored them. Wasn’t as if he’d planned on being stealthy. That had never been a strong point of his. He broke into a run. Not towards anything in particular—he didn’t know where exactly they were keeping Zane, though he’d search the whole base if necessary—but _forwards_. Not that there was anywhere else to go. The corridor stretched straight out in front of him for a long way before turning to the left, with not a door in sight to break up the blank white walls.

Footsteps from around the corner. Then a group of guards, at first running towards him, but slowing to a walk when they actually _saw_ him. Adam couldn’t blame them. To them, he must have looked like--well, a killing machine, in a very literal way. He’d been designed to be intimidating, to tower over humans like everyone’s image of a mechanical monster. He’d never liked it, never normally wanted people to be scared of him, but in cases like this it had its advantages.

One guard paused. Looked back at the guy with an armband marking him as the leader, who gave a hand signal. The guards opened fire. Adam sprinted forwards, the bullets bouncing off him with a metallic rattle. He closed in on the guards and hit the closest one in the face with a right hook, the amount of force carefully calculated to knock the human to the ground without killing him.

Some of the other guards started to back away. Their leader snarled some insults at them and stood his ground, facing Adam with his back to the wall, still shooting. Adam took a couple more steps towards him, then grabbed the gun out of his hands, bent it nearly into a circle, and dropped it on the ground.

The guards ran. Adam watched as they pushed past each other to get out of the building through the shattered doorway he’d come in through. Then he continued down the corridor.

He didn’t have long to find Zane. The company had plenty of other labs, so they wouldn’t lose much by evacuating this one, and Zane would be a valuable enough test subject—much as the thought disgusted Adam—to be taken with them. 

Adam slowed his pace slightly as he approached a lab, and glanced through the glass of the door. The scientists inside were frantically packing up notes and flash drives. Other than the chaos and panic, the place looked normal enough. Just like any other lab, really, not that different to the one he’d been built in. No wonder these guys got away with kidnapping people and experimenting on them. If Adam hadn’t known what they were doing, he wouldn’t have believed it.

He broke the door down. The scientists jumped back. Staring at him in a “ _the scary android’s going to kill me”_ kind of way. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t correct them.

“Where’s Zane?” Not that it really came out as a _question—_ no matter how hard he tried, he hadn’t been programmed for that level of expression.

Blank looks. Of course. They wouldn’t have bothered to learn names. It wasn’t as if Zane was _human._

“Where do you keep the test subjects?”

A few of the scientists glanced at each other. Eventually, one of them spoke. “The cells are in the basement.” Half-mumbled, his gaze flicking to Adam, to the door, and back, clearly looking for a way out.

Adam turned his gaze to the man, while staying unmoving and silent. After a moment, the scientist stammered out, “Down the corridor, turn right and you’ll see the stairs.”

Adam turned and left without a word, heading down the stairs and into the dark basement. Through narrow, identical corridors, lined with cell doors and barred windows. Adam glanced into each one, looking for Zane, but they were all empty. They must have started evacuating test subjects already. The footsteps and voices of guards were audible in the distance, but they weren’t getting any closer.

Something, or someone, moved nearby. Quiet enough that a human wouldn’t have noticed. A pair of red-orange eyes began to glow through the darkness.

A woman stepped out of the shadows with a sweep of her long black coat. She was wearing lightweight body armour, and her sharp, pale features and short dark hair were instantly familiar. Hunter. How long had she been waiting there to make her dramatic entrance?

She gave a sharp-toothed grin. “Adam. Great to see you.” If Adam hadn’t known better he’d have thought she meant it.

“Hunter.” Adam watched her in silence. She didn’t pull a knife, or otherwise attack. After a moment, he added a “What are you doing here?” This time, the flat tone he’d been programmed with didn’t matter. He didn’t really care about the answer at this point. It was unlikely to be anything good.

Hunter’s smile didn’t change. “The same as you.”

 _What?_ Adam would have stared blankly at that even if he’d been able to do otherwise.

Hunter raised an eyebrow. “At least, I assume you are here because our mutual friend got in a bit of trouble.”

“Mutual friend?” She couldn’t mean Zane, could she? This had to be some kind of trick. Wouldn’t be the first time she’d lied to him or tried to manipulate him, after all.

Hunter paused, then her grin widened. “ _Oh,_ they never told you.” A short laugh. “Well, this will be interesting.”

“What are you talking about?” Adam stared down at Hunter, his arms crossed. “And don’t tell me Zane’s ‘friends’ with a violent criminal.” No-one on his team would go behind his back about something like that. At least, he hoped not. Hunter could be pretty deceptive at times— _he’d_ thought they were friends at one point, after all—but Zane wouldn’t be fooled, would they? Not after he’d warned them about her.

“I am deeply offended.” Her tone flattening to something as cold as Adam’s own. The smile had now dropped into a barely-there smirk, which twisted one-sidedly as she continued. “You _are_ technically a wanted criminal yourself.”

“Only because it’s illegal to do pretty much anything that helps nonhumans.” He was nothing like Hunter. He didn’t want to be anything like Hunter. He’d learned that much years ago. The footsteps of more guards, a larger group by the sounds of it, were approaching. But Adam was ready for them. Hunter was the bigger problem. What else was new?

Her eyes flashed red and she stepped closer, glaring up at him now, no longer smiling. “And what do you think _my_ goal is? Do you think I do this for fun?” A half-shrug. “Well...it _is_ fun, a lot of the time at any rate. But in the end, I want the same things you do. And from the government’s point of view at least, that makes us basically the same. The only reason you have not been officially classed as a supervillain, or whatever it is they call people like me now, is that you never do anything _big_ enough.”

“That, and I’m not a traitor who solves all her problems with knives and explosives,” Adam replied. The footsteps were closer now. The guards were probably coming to take Zane to wherever the other test subjects had been taken to.

For a moment, Hunter looked like she was about to respond angrily, but then she laughed, with a brief shake of her head. “I never betrayed anyone, Adam. I quit my job. People quit their jobs all the time.”

It wasn’t the same, but Adam reminded himself there was no point in arguing with Hunter. She wasn’t the kind of person who wanted to change. “Look, the guards will be here any moment. We don’t have a lot of time for conversation. Just let me get to Zane—then they can explain how you two really know each other.”

The footsteps were close enough now that Hunter could apparently hear them too. She was silent for a second, listening—now _that_ was rare—then turned to Adam. “Sounds like a lot of them. We might have to fight them off together.” Grinning once more. “Just like old times.”

* * *

There were at least 50 guards, all heavily armed. If Hunter had been alone, she would not have tried to fight so many. As it was, however, the guards were if anything at a disadvantage. This was going to be _fun_.

Hunter did not draw her knives just yet. After all, these people were only human, and most probably had no idea what their employer was really doing. But she did bare her teeth as they approached, dropping into a fighting stance and letting her eyes glow, watching the growing fear on the guards’ faces as they realised exactly who they were dealing with.

Adam glanced at her. “Don’t kill anyone.”

She glared at him, offended. Now _that_ was just unfair. “I had no intention of doing so.”

Adam charged forwards first, heroic as ever. Hunter let him. She was far from hesitant in a fight, but when they were up against so many guards, it made sense for the bulletproof one to be in front. The guards started shooting, expending their ammunition but barely leaving a scratch on Adam.

The instant she noticed several guards run out of ammunition, Hunter attacked. Punching one in the face, sending him staggering back, then driving her elbow into the chest of another. A third tried to reload, but she hit him with a left-handed backfist to the face, then while he was still dazed, grabbed his arm with her right hand and twisted it until he dropped the gun. He turned and ran.

A bullet bounced off her armour. Hunter glanced in the direction it had come from—to see Adam send the guard who had fired it flying across the room with a single punch. Before the man had even hit the ground, Adam had turned to attack another, grabbing him and throwing him to the floor.

They kept fighting. As the guards became more and more terrified, more and more desperate, and started looking for ways to escape, it was all Hunter could do not to laugh. And Adam—

Adam would have been awe-inspiring, if Hunter had been the kind of person to be in awe of anyone. He was strong, obviously, but it was more than that. He was far more agile than anyone would have guessed looking at him, moving so fast it was hard to keep track, even for her. Every attack was calculated and precise. He made it look easy. Say what you would about Adam’s misplaced idealism, he knew how to fight in a way most people never would, no matter how much they trained. It was a pity he never really seemed to _enjoy_ it much.

No wonder his team looked up to him. If he had looked human, the government would have snapped him up for one of their superhero initiatives. People would beg him for autographs, or get him on TV to advertise their products, or sell action figures of him. As it was, he had to fight to get treated like a person. And yet he never gave up.

_If he joined her, they would be invincible._

When the fight was over, Hunter paused, and looked around at the empty corridor. The guards who were not unconscious on the floor had run away, and their guns were heaped in a corner, twisted and broken. “Is that it?” Arms outstretched in a _come at me_ gesture. “Anyone else?”

No more guards appeared, and the corridor remained silent. She turned to Adam, head slightly on one side as she smiled at him. “Told you we made a good team.”

Adam didn’t respond.

* * *

They headed down the corridor towards the cells. Adam glanced at Hunter. Her hair was wild, there were several bullet holes in her coat, and one of her gloves was streaked with blood. She looked like she was in her element, in a way she rarely did when giving orders, planning strategies and making speeches.

“You enjoyed that too much.”

“Is there really such a thing as enjoying something _too much_?” Gazing up towards the ceiling, her tone speculative. “I mean, I love what I do.” A light wave of a black-gloved hand. “Is that a crime?”

“Pretty much everything you do is a crime.”

An awkward silence followed. He wondered whether to ask her about Zane. He’d probably end up regretting it. Adam hesitated, then asked anyway. “How long have you known Zane?”

“A year.”

His teammate—his friend—had been keeping this secret from him for a year. How could Hunter sound so casual about it?

Hunter continued. “Remember when you were trying to track down Ivanov?”

Adam remembered Ivanov. He’d been one of the most dangerous crime lords alive, and involved in selling nonhumans into slavery. But at first he couldn’t see what it had to do with Zane, or with Hunter. Except—

The realisation hit him. Zane had been the one who’d given him the information he needed to finally track Ivanov down. And now that he thought about it, they’d never told him exactly how they’d found out.

“They went to you for help?”

Hunter shrugged. “Reluctantly, yes. Sometimes my areas of expertise can come in useful.”

“And, what, you’ve been getting coffee together every week since?”

She laughed. “Nothing like that. But I have helped them with a few things since then. And once or twice they have done a couple of favours for me. So naturally when I found out they were in danger, I had to come to their rescue.”

“Out of the goodness of your heart.”

Her mouth twisted into an ironic half-smile. “I am not a monster.” A short pause and a slight frown. Then she shrugged. “Well, officially, all mutants are monsters, but I know neither of us believe _that._ ”

They reached the cell. Hunter inspected the keypad next to the door. “These keys appear to have been used more than—”

Adam punched the door, breaking it off its hinges. Hunter stared at the ruined steel frame for a second, then turned to Adam, one eyebrow raised. “That also works.”

The cell was so small that Adam had to duck his head to fit inside. It was dark, and empty of even the bare minimum of furniture. No-one would last long in a place like that. It was a good thing Adam had got there when he did. 

Zane was kneeling on the floor of the cell, hands chained to the wall behind their back. The chains around their cybernetic arm were reinforced to stop them breaking free, while the skin on the other wrist was grazed, presumably from struggling against the chains. Thankfully they didn’t look injured otherwise, but their head was hung low and their eyes were half-closed and dull. Their clothes had been replaced with an ill-fitting uniform grey jumpsuit.

Adam wanted to rush forwards and break the chains, but until he knew for certain what these people had done to Zane, it wasn’t safe. For all he knew, the scientists could have put a chip in their brain or something. Of course, if Zane attacked him he could defend himself, but he didn’t want to hurt them in the process. He stepped forwards cautiously. “Zane? Are you all right?”

Zane looked up at Adam with a tired smile and tried to shake their long hair out of their eyes. “I’ve been worse.”

Adam hesitated for a moment, then reached forwards and broke the chains. Zane let out a relieved breath, nearly falling forwards as the chains they’d been straining against dropped to the ground. They put out a hand to catch themself, then clumsily scrambled to their feet.

Adam watched with concern, stepping closer, ready to catch them if they fell. “They didn’t hurt you?”

Zane shook their head. “Nah, not yet at any rate. Just chained me up and left me here. I was starting to get bored—” they stopped, staring behind Adam. “ _Hunter?_ Is that _you?_ ”

Hunter gave a slight scoff. “How many other people with glowing red eyes do you know?”

Adam glanced back at her, and would have frowned if his face had been more expressive. Why was she still treating this like a joke?

“No, I mean--” Zane glanced nervously from Hunter to Adam and back. “What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you. And,” she waved a hand in Adam’s direction, “catching up with old friends.”

“Not sure ‘friends’ is the word,” Adam said, turning back to Zane. “You never told me you two knew each other.”

“Look, I hadn’t meant for you to find out like this.” Zane stared up at him, wide-eyed.

“Had you meant for me to find out at all?”

“Yeah! Yeah, of course. Just—” Zane exhaled sharply. “Wasn’t sure how to tell you.”

Hunter spoke up again from behind Adam. “We agreed _not_ to tell you after the first time Zane went to me for help. Although I am surprised they did not admit it before now.”

Adam glanced at Hunter, then at Zane. “You agreed not to tell me?”

“I knew you wouldn’t like it.” Zane glanced around as if literally looking for a way out. “And we needed to catch Ivanov! We’d never have got him if not for Hunter. Look, I don’t like everything she does, but sometimes you gotta make compromises.”

For a moment, the three were silent. Adam staring at Zane, still not sure how to feel about any of this. Not that how he felt mattered. His team relied on him, and he couldn’t make his decisions based on anything that personal.

Zane stared back, hunched, eyes narrowed. Hunter was gazing off at some undefined spot in the distance, idly flipping a knife around with one hand.

Eventually, Adam spoke. “We need to get out of here. Talking can wait until we’re somewhere safer.”

* * *

They managed to escape in the chaos as the base was evacuated. The building was surrounded by forest, and they ran, zigzagging through the trees until they were at a safe distance. They slowed to a walk.

Hunter gave a half-smile. “That went well. Although I still think we should have blown the place up.”

Adam said nothing, just looked at her in a way that somehow managed to convey disapproval despite his expression not changing. He rarely tried to talk her out of things anymore, which should have been a relief, but instead meant he rarely talked to her at all. When he was not heroically pointing out the error of her ways, all he was capable of was stony silence with the occasional angry monosyllable.

...Maybe more _metallic_ silence.

She sighed. “I meant after everyone was out of the building.”

“Someone could still have been trapped in there.”

Just like Adam to miss a chance to destroy everything their enemies had been working on, for the sake of some hypothetical person. Heroic, perhaps, but unrealistic.

They walked on in slightly awkward silence for a while, before Hunter spoke again. “And how have your friends been since the last time we met?” Keeping her tone casual.

“Fine.” Adam had apparently decided to prove her point about angry monosyllables.

Not much of an answer. She tried again. “Did the puppy and the short woman with the impressive collection of knives get over their disappointment at failing to capture me?”

“Luke isn’t a puppy,” Adam protested. “He’s just...young, and inexperienced. He means well.”

“Oh, come on. The wide eyes, the way he follows you around…”

Adam did not argue, instead just shooting Hunter a look before replying. “Either way, Luke and Zuri have names.”

“You can hardly blame me for not remembering them. I never had much time to get to know them in between nearly getting stabbed,” she replied with a tight-lipped smile. “Still, I have nothing against them. Who knows, we might even get on well if we worked together.”

Adam remained unconvinced. “On what? Robbing banks, like you did not too long ago?”

She rolled her eyes slightly at that. “It was a mafia bank.”

“It _was_ a mafia bank,” Zane suddenly spoke up.

Hunter looked at Zane with some surprise. She had almost forgotten they were there. “See? Even your friend agrees with me. Anyway, I only do what is necessary. The revolution will not fund itself, and there are worse sources of money than stealing from criminals. What are you going to do? Take their side? Try to stop me?”

Adam said nothing for a moment, then spoke more quietly. “No-one told me that. About the bank.”

“You never exactly _asked_ me before trying to play the hero.” She sighed. “I know you like to have your rules about what _good people_ can do. But our enemies will change the rules whenever they see fit. As Zane put it, sometimes you have to make compromises. Use a bit of sense for once, Adam, and join the winning side while you still can.”

Adam shook his head. “You’re so sure you’re going to win. Is that why you don’t listen to anyone even when you’re putting people in danger?”

“I know what I am doing.”

“So do I.”

When Hunter responded, her voice was quiet and cold. “Then you have made your choices, and I have made mine. We will see how history remembers us both.” Hunter turned and walked away, leaving Adam and Zane to make their own way back to their team’s headquarters.

* * *

The next day, Adam got a message on his communicator. There was nothing to identify who sent it, but he knew who it would be before even opening it.

It read, “The job offer still stands.”

He deleted it.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from No More Regrets by Arch-Enemy.  
> First time I've published anything with these OCs, I'm planning on doing more with them.  
> Thanks AWST for betaing.


End file.
